[Valrhona Inspirations]

10 hours ago, Jim D. said:

I knew that AUI would become the sole distributor at the beginning of 2018. For me that was good news because they are located rather close to me, and if I buy enough at a time, they have free shipping. I wonder what strategy Felchlin has in mind with limiting distribution; it was always rather difficult to find. I would think the more distributors, the better for sales. I bought some Creole once but don't recall what it tasted like (it's less sweet than most milks, I think). I use the Maracaibo Criolait, but don't think it's less expensive. I gave up on the wonderful Fortunato milk as couverture (it's just too temperamental to make shells, though it is great in ganaches). You will certainly not cut your costs with Valrhona. By the way, I bought a Valrhona dark sampler once and found that their Caraïbe is the closest in flavor to Felchlin's Maracaibo dark (alas, it also shares Maracaibo's tendency to become overcrystallized rather quickly).

 

Could you give your source for the raspberries? The freeze dried fruit I have purchased (actually I think it was powdered) has been weak and "sawdusty" in flavor, though it was from a highly rated source.

 

Interesting, Valrhona Caraibe is my main dark chocolate for shells and ganaches and I have not had problems with over-crystallization. For me it is a great chocolate to work with -- great flavor, thin shells, and enrobes nicely.

[Foodblog Fanfare: Feb 23!]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Why are the lower tiers light brown?  Dare I say gravy color?  (Please note I have never seen a real life chocolate fountain.)

 

The Bellagio chocolate fountain circulates dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. I suspect the colors in the photo are a tad "off" and the gravy is milk chocolate.

[Tempering with a JKV 30 wheel machine]

I do believe that @RobertM used one of these for a number of years. Perhaps he will answer your questions.

[Outside the Brown Bag - Taking my Kitchen Toys to Work]

Kerry, such a beautiful sunrise, thanks for the photo!

 

Glad you’re eating well at work. What did you do for meals before you brought all your toys in? Are you’re coworkers cooking at work too?

[Tempering machine suggestions needed]

You may want to consider getting a standalone vibrating table -- a number of manufacturers make them, TCF has a few https://www.tcfsales.com/products/c72-vibration-tables-remove-air-bubbles/. If you select one of the tables with a grid to the side (and it is the right size & height) you may be able to have the excess chocolate shake into a 3Z temperer. 

 

I would also suggest the following -- instead of a new tempering machine: a standalone vibrating table, a melter (great for shaking chocolate into & keeping tempered chocolate in temper), and an EZTemper unit. This combo should be less than $4,000 with all new equipment. Now, if you can locate a used Selmi, that might be an even better solution for your shop.  So many variables to consider when making a decision. Be aware that the older Selmis require 3-phase power and that the newer Selmis are built in two different configurations (3-phase and regular residential power).

[How do I stabilize chewy caramels?]

@PFox if you don't have Peter Greweling's book Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner already, I recommend that you get it. It has a few caramel recipes and offers lots of great recipes and food science.

[Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )]

10 hours ago, Haley said:

I really really wish I could, but my daughter has a dance recital that weekend so I won’t be able to make it.

Well best of luck to your daughter and perhaps you will be able to attend the 2019 workshop.

[Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )]

@Haley, welcome! Beautiful and tasty sounding chocolates.

 

Maybe you can join us at the eGullet chocolates & confections workshop?

[Cooking on a Big Green Egg]

@rustwood thank you for your comments, you got me to look at the Kamado Joe again. I did not realize that they made so many changes/upgrades in 2017. I just might get the large Kamado Joe instead of the large Big Green Egg!  I like the fact that the Kamado Joe is setup with a split grate, has a pull out ash drawer, and has a lid lift assist.

 

Already figured out that we were going with the large -- talking to other class participants and actually cooking on two sizes of eggs made us realize that most of the time all we would need is a large.

[Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )]

This year's Valentine's Day selection: passion fruit jelly & passion fruit ganache, hazelnut gianduja and feuilletine, muscovado salted caramel.

Some in progress photos...

[Cooking on a Big Green Egg]

My husband and I are considering getting a BGE and took a class today at Dizzy Pig Seasonings. It was a four hour course covering chili & comfort foods. They used a few large eggs and on XL egg.

The menu:

• chili with brisket cubes, tomatoes, and beans
• mac & cheese
• smoked brisket (cooked in  a drum smoker using the extra brisket from the chili)
• stuffed baked potatoes
• pineapple upside down cakes

 

The bacon for the stuffed baked potatoes was cooked on upside down grill grates. Unsurprisingly, each recipe included at least one Dizzy Pig seasoning blend.

 

[What causes lumpy chocolate & how do I fix it?]

The chocolate is a year old and was stored in sealed ziploc freezer bags. I would have hit it with a stick blender but mine broke and I haven’t replaced it yet. Glad to know that this has happened to other people.

[What causes lumpy chocolate & how do I fix it?]

So I've remelted some Valrhona Azelia that was extra from another project and even at 45° C the chocolate has small lumps. If I press a lump against the side of the melter (or between my fingers) it smooths out but I can't remove all the lumps that way. For tonight, I poured all the chocolate through a sieve and pushed the lumps thru with a silicone spatula. That solves the problem for today but I want to know, what caused those lumps in the first place? Also, if this happens again, is there a better way to correct the problem? I have never had this happen before with any couverture (including the Azelia) and hope you can tell me how I can prevent this from happening .

[Chocolate Workshop 2018 Niagara on the Lake]

@Kerry Beal just checking on the schedule given your last update. Are you planning for Thursday at Tomric, Friday master class in NOTL, and Saturday & Sunday workshop in NOTL?  Just trying to get my lodging arrangements set up for pre and post conference.

[Spraying Chocolate: Equipment, Materials, and Techniques]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

I wasn't thinking that you can't do it. I was thinking more along the lines that if I was standing in front of a bunch of mousses that needed to have it done, I think I'd rather have the output of the Wagner over the precision of the airbrush in that situation. 

Definitely, for larger production go with a paint sprayer or a Fuji! Just wanted to clarify that velveting/flocking can be achieved with an airbrush too.

[Spraying Chocolate: Equipment, Materials, and Techniques]

You can do velveting with an airbrush — I have done it a few times at various eGullet chocolate workshops. Just make sure to use a 50/50 chocolate/cocoa butter mixture (like pastrygirl mentioned earlier).

[Finding a Mixer]

Something to check into... at one time I think there was a 20 quart Hobart mixer that would also work with a 10 quart bowl. If that would not work with yours, maybe you can trade for the other model.

[Chocdoc and Chocolot take their hearts to San Francisco]

Best looking breakfast buffet I've seen in years.I hope it tasted good too! Where are you staying?

[The Bread Topic (2016–)]

58 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Pretty simple for YOU--I'm baking challenged   I promise mine would turn out looking nothing like that.

Maybe it wouldn't be as pretty but it would still be very tasty.  I bet it would look beautiful. 

[The Bread Topic (2016–)]

@Shelby thank you. It was very tasty and disappeared quickly. The dough is very easy to work with and it was pretty simple to create the star. I definitely recommend trying it.

[The Fruitcake Topic]

Finally! I have made Kerry's recipe for Phil's White fruit cakes. Definitely going to make these again! Thanks for the recipe @Kerry Beal.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/128698-phils-white-fruitcake/

 

[Christmas Chocolate and Confections Redux]

Busy holiday season, not a lot of photos to post! Here is a photo of a mixed assortment box (raspberry pate de fruit & marzipan, milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter, dark chocolate with crunchy peanut butter, mints, and bourbon ganache). Not pictured are the dark chocolate dipped candied ginger & dark chocolate dipped candied orange peel.

[The Bread Topic (2016–)]

pesto star bread - can be sweet or savory - recipe from King Arthur Flour https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-star-bread-recipe 

Mixed and kneaded with my new DLX/Ankarsrum mixer (formerly owned by the amazing @andiesenji).

[Cooking with "Deep Run Roots" by Vivian Howard]

For the holidays, finally getting to the party magnet -- the cheese ball!

[Christmas Chocolate and Confections Redux]

following @patris's excellent example, my attempt at filled pretzels -- filling of choice, a crunchy peanut butter filling